Teen who called for help with spider grateful for officer's assistance

A Forest Grove teen called for help when she spotted a sizable spider in her home.

She first tried to reach her parents, family friends and neighbors. No luck. So, she called her best friend over, but said that girl couldn't kill the "massive" spider, either.

Makenna Sewell said her next move was to call the non-emergency police dispatch line.

"I didn't call 911," she said. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I basically called the dispatcher looking for advice."

It happened the night of Aug. 16. The girl told the dispatcher she had "a ridiculous question," before asking for help killing the spider. She described it as the size of a baseball and said a poisonous spider had recently bit her mother.

"I think that raised awareness for her and why she was so wanting to get help," Makenna's mother said.

What Makenna didn't say to the dispatcher is that she has muscular dystrophy, and hitting and killing that spider would have been incredibly difficult.

"I know if I hit that spider and didn't kill it and it ran, we'd never find it," she said.

The dispatcher agreed to have a police officer contact her. He arrived at the scene, with the spider still resting on the couch, and killed it with an old-fashioned rolled-up newspaper.

Forest Grove police said it's not normal for them to respond to a call about an arachnid, but they decided to help the young lady out in this instance.

"I feel pretty fortunate to live in a town where I know that something minor like a spider, I can call and there will be someone to help me," Makenna said.

The family said they had the spider tested and, according to Makenna and her mother, the results showed that it was a poisonous brown recluse. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, however, the brown recluse spider is not known to be in Oregon.

As for the media coverage of the whole thing, Makenna could only laugh.

(AP Photo/Matt Dunham). Baltimore Ravens players kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, Sunday Sept. 24, 2017.

More than 20,000 people have signed an online petition to remove the statue of Ray Lewis from outside M&T Bank Stadium after he joined current players in taking a knee during the national anthem before Sunday’s game.

More than 20,000 people have signed an online petition to remove the statue of Ray Lewis from outside M&T Bank Stadium after he joined current players in taking a knee during the national anthem before Sunday’s game.